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The study investigated whether patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have an altered response to contact allergens compared to those without AD. The researchers compared the response to a contact allergen in mice with different skin conditions. They found that mice with impaired skin barrier and pre-existing skin inflammation had a reduced inflammatory response to the allergen compared to mice with healthy skin or impaired skin barrier without inflammation. The study suggests that pre-existing skin inflammation can suppress immune responses to new allergens, which may have implications for future research in contact allergy and dermal vaccine development. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses the high content of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in cement samples from three African countries: Tanzania, Ghana, and South Africa. The study found that while the total amount of chromium in the samples was relatively low compared to samples from EU and non-EU countries, the content of Cr(VI) was alarmingly high. In six out of the eight samples, the Cr(VI) content exceeded the maximal allowed concentration in the EU. The authors suggest that reducing the concentration of Cr(VI) in cement and implementing measures to prevent direct skin contact with cement could significantly reduce chromium allergy in these African countries. [Extracted from the article]

Only few studies on contact allergy in African countries have been published. The aim of the present study was to provide an overview of the most common contact allergens identified by the use of patch tests in African countries based on a review of the existing literature. A total of twenty‐four publications from eight African countries were initially identified by search in PubMed. The abstracts and method sections were screened, and 15 studies in which patch tests were actually used to identify the allergen causing the allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) were finally selected. Nickel, cobalt, chromium, fragrance mix and p‐tert‐butylphenol‐formaldehyde resin were the dominating contact allergens responsible for 40%–90% of the positive patch test reactions. This study indicates that a targeted effort directed towards prevention, avoidance and regulation of reliably identified contact allergens could reduce the disease burden of ACD considerable in some African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]